More reform to the immigration system is on tap. This time not good news for the working spouses of many tech workers from India, who often hail from high quality technology schools based in Bangalore.

So now the spouses of existing visa holders in the US may eventually not be allowed to work, as they have been since 2015 when the rules were changed.

The Trump administration will propose revoking a rule that makes spouses of thousands of immigrant workers eligible to work while in the U.S., potentially complicating a major driver of technology jobs.
Since 2015, the spouses of H-1B, or high-skilled, visa holders waiting for green cards have been eligible to work in the U.S. on H-4 dependent visas, under a rule introduced by President Obama’s administration.

The tech sector is a major employer of H-1B visa holders, a category of visas for highly skilled jobs.

But in a statement Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security said it intends to do away with that rule.

Many knew when Trump won the election that this kind of immigration reform news would be forthcoming. Such as when Trump tightened the rules on H1B renewals.

The U.S. government is toughening up the process for renewing a popular foreign work visa.

This week, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services advised its officers to “apply the same level of scrutiny” to extension requests for the H-1B visa, among other sought after visas.

In other words, officers are instructed to review requests for renewal as thoroughly as they would initial visa applications.

The H-1B is a common visa pathway for high-skilled foreigners to work at companies in the U.S. It’s valid for three years, and can be renewed for another three years. It’s a program that’s particularly near and dear to the tech community, with many talented engineers vying for one of the program’s 85,000 visas each year.

The directive rescinds the previous guidance, which gave “deference” to previously approved visas “as long as the key elements were unchanged and there was no evidence of a material error or fraud related to the prior determination.”

The pre-detonation of a pipe bomb in a connector tunnel between Port Authority and the NY subway system resulted in very few casualties. But this did not stop President Trump from revisiting a theme that has been actively discussed by him on his Twitter account. The need to reform the “lax” immigration system.

The suspect in this case was on an F Visa, and already had a green card.

Multiple news outlets are reporting that early in the morning of December 11, during the busy rush hour, an explosive device went off at one of Mew York’s busiest subway stations, near Times Square. The explosion caused widespread panic and subway disruptions.

One man. allegedly from Bangladesh, was taken into custody, amid reports of injuries to a few people, including to the suspect himself, according to the Washington Post.

Even though there is no reported evidence so far that this was anything other than a “lone wolf” terrorist attack, Trump, we can be sure, will very likely lose little or no time in making demagogic attacks on immigrants from outside Europe and using this latest incident to promote, not only his latest Muslim ban, but also his entire white nationalist anti-immigrant agenda.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said on Monday the homemade bomb attack in New York City that authorities said was carried out by a Bangladeshi man highlights the “urgent need” for Congress to enact immigration reform legislation.

Trump said in a statement the suspect had entered the United States on a family immigrant visa, benefiting from a U.S. policy known as chain migration, which the president said “is incompatible with national security.”

And the White House immediately chimed in afterwards:

“This attack underscores the need for Congress to work with the president on immigration reforms that enhance the national security and public safety,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters. “We must protect our borders and we must ensure that individuals entering our country are not coming to do harm to people, and we must move to a merit-based immigration system.”

Pinning her hopes on promises of immigration reform, 2 term Democratic 46th district Rep. Loretta Sanchez looks to be losing the Senate race big time to Willie Brown protege current Attorney General of California Kamala Harris.

Pinning her hopes on the undecided vote and fellow Hispanics, Rep. Loretta Sanchez brought her underdog U.S. Senate campaign to Barrio Logan, vowing to introduce comprehensive immigration reform in the first 60 days if elected.

The Garden Grove Democrat told a news conference Thursday in Chicano Park that she, unlike rival Kamala Harris, has “all the experience” to tackle reform. “I’m ready to go on Day 1,” she told Times of San Diego. “I know the issue. I know who’s been with us. I know who’s been against us.”

But she’s had 2 terms to deliver on it, so voters might be looking this time around at a change.

Nathan Click, the spokesman, also said: “Sanchez has been criticized by immigration activists in Washington for missing key immigration votes.

In this video of the 2016 Senate Debate, Sanchez comes off sounding hollow after 2 terms, with little more to offer than well-known sound bytes…

Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, the solid front-runner in California’s historic Democrat-versus-Democrat Senate contest, had favorability marks of 41%, brighter but not great. President Obama’s approval here is 65% and Hillary Clinton’s is 56%.

The survey found 48% of likely voters supported Harris, compared with 31% who backed Sanchez. The gap between the two Democrats has widened a smidgen since early September, when Sanchez began holding a series of news conferences attacking Harris’ record as attorney general.

“I think the short story here is that Harris is comfortably ahead. Overall, she is just better known and better liked,” said Anna Greenberg, the Democratic pollster whose firm forms half of the bipartisan team that conducts the survey for USC and The Times. “Sanchez is just at a major disadvantage.”

Kamala Harris has a sterling resume but has not dealt much with immigration reform issues due to the nature of her previous posts.

That said, look to the future as she might even end up on the Supreme Court one day. A former DA for San Francisco, appointed during the administration of Willie Brown, she’s risen through the political ranks smoothly.

Willie Brown must be smiling right now as Harris blows past Sanchez faster than a Maserati. Who better to lend advice than Willie Brown, who dominated the California State Assembly for years before resurfacing into a posh time spent as Mayor of San Francisco.

Anyone interested in how to be a politician needs look no further than this legend. I’ll dig it up, but somewhere there’s video of weekly “Press Availability”, note how simply he dissects all of the news reporters, it’s like a lion vs. kittens. Till then this interview will have to suffice.

Speaking of interviews, here’s a video of Ms. Harris’ speech at the California Democratic Convention.

Unfortunately, getting support for an immigration reform bill will be particularly difficult in the hostile atmosphere created by Trump. It took us several years in the 1980’s to come together and pass a bill that attempted to address that generation’s immigration issues. As a participant in those debates, it was clear to me then, and it is just as clear now, that this must be a bipartisan effort.

But Mr. Garcia notes that she has the experience to work toward a positive result:

The good news is Clinton has proven she understands how to work with the other side of the aisle. Her bottom line is to come together to find common ground while never forgetting that immigration reform is not an abstraction. It is about people, their future, and our future as a nation.

It all went OK until the Wedtech scandal.

According to Wikipedia, the author of the Time article, the 7 term House Rep Mr. Garcia, had a long political career, but one that ended in scandal:

Our immigration system has been broken for decades — and every minute we fail to act, millions of people who live in the shadows but want to play by the rules and pay taxes have no way to live right by the law and contribute to our country.

So tomorrow night, President Obama will address the nation to lay out the executive actions he’s taking to fix our broken immigration system. You can watch the President live tomorrow night at 8 p.m. ET at WhiteHouse.gov/Live.

Here’s the video:

It’s a gambit right out of the starting gate of the race for the 2016 Presidential election, perhaps intended to appeal to the group most responsible for helping to bring Obama into the White House to begin with.

And as noted on Huffington Post, several major network stations like ABC, NBC, and CBS, and not actually airing the 15 minute speech:

Despite the great significance of Barack Obama’s planned executive action on immigration reform, the four major television broadcast networks are not planning to cover the president’s Thursday night address where he is expected to announce his plan.

“Although the Congress has not addressed our broken immigration system by passing comprehensive reform legislation, my administration will continue to take every possible step to build upon the progress already made,” Bush said.

White House Press Secretary Dana Perino explained that the administration had initially held off on the changes to allow Congress breathing room to deal with the immigration problem comprehensively, adding, “We’re going as far as we possibly can without Congress acting.”

an Executive Order also how George W. Bush dealt with his own concerns on the matter, the full article from back then “Bush pushes agenda without Congress“, by NBC News, notes how then-President Bush pushed his policy after it previously failed in congress:

His strength is sapped by an unpopular war, Democrats are running Congress, and the 2008 presidential election is in full roar, distracting attention from the president’s priorities. With dwindling options, Bush has decided he might get more done in his final months by going it alone.

Outgoing presidents often unleash a flurry of executive orders and regulations in a last-minute attempt to leave their mark on U.S. policy. Frustrated by Congress’ inability or unwillingness to pass the president’s agenda, the administration already is taking steps to do it through executive action.

With his immigration bill dead, the administration rolled out a proposed rule to address some of the major issues in the failed legislation. It will tighten border security, streamline guest-worker programs and pressure employers to fire illegal immigrant workers.

So regardless of who airs the speech or who doesn’t, it’ll be a major topic over the coming weeks. Due to the holiday season starting, it will get PLENTY of air time.

So over the last 24 hours everyone’s jumped into the immigration reform news headlines, each with their own agenda. Kind of good timing for all of them because everyone needed a way to turn down the volume on the gun debate.

What better way than for the Gang of 8 to spring into action with their own flavor of immigration reform some are calling Shamnesty.

It right up there with it is the flip side, Obamnesty. The supposed result of tens of thousands of illegal immigrants being granted a “free pass” in the word of those who oppose it.

President Obama came out today with his own early AM statement, and is due to speak later today.

The simultaneous immigration campaigns were spurred by the November presidential election, in which Obama won an overwhelming majority of Hispanic voters. The results caused Republican lawmakers who had previously opposed immigration reform to reconsider in order to rebuild the party’s reputation among Hispanics, an increasingly powerful political force.

That makes sense, but I doubt many Hispanic voters can be sayed to the Republican side just because some immigration reform was passed, when for years it was Republicans who halted any immigration reform changes of any kind.

Ezra Klien put an interesting spin on the subject of visa caps as they relate to potential economic benefit, found here in detail on Wonkblog:

Perhaps the key architectural question in building a new immigration system (as opposed to figuring out what to do with the failures of the last immigration system) is deciding whether we’ll focus our visas on drawing needed skills (for instance, by favouring immigrants with advanced degrees or who work in sectors, like agriculture, where we need more labor), emphasizing family unification or something else.

Immigration attorneys and lawyers will surely all be wondering what’s about to happen next. Will there be a bonanza of new clients trying to get in under the old system, or a rush of new ones?

Will the issue drag out or come to a sudden definitive closure>

Fast and simple just doesn’t seem like the Washington DC we know right?

Are both parties just showing off? Or is this going to be a fight like health care was?

The article on the CBS site basically sums up data they, and the Associate Press obtained, here are the proposed comprehensive immigration reform changes:

Creating a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already here, contingent upon securing the border and better tracking of people here on visas;

Reforming the legal immigration system, including awarding green cards to immigrants who obtain advanced degrees in science, math, technology or engineering from an American university;

Creating an effective employment verification system to ensure that employers do not hire illegal immigrants;

Allowing more low-skill workers into the country and allowing employers to hire immigrants if they can demonstrate they couldn’t recruit a U.S. citizen; and establishing an agricultural worker program.

The ability ALREADY exists for employers to hire foreign workers, which is called PERM Labor Certifcation, and has been around for many years.

And there is also an Agricultural worker program.

It’s more likely that adjustments to existing programs will be made. And also, if the House of Representatives has to be involved in any way, a pitched battle of epic proportions will undoubtedly take place.

So as we know comprehensive immigration reform will some day be a reality, and that might actually be within the next 4 years, let’s count this as just a prelude of what’s to come.

The government clearly defines the system as follows:

The actual process for permanent labor certification varies depending upon the program being used. This Web site contains information regarding the process for filing for each of the programs under the Department of Labor’s (DOL) jurisdiction. The filing of applications is the responsibility of the employer, not the employee. However, the employee can benefit from understanding the program being utilized in his/her behalf. In general, the DOL works to ensure that the admission of foreign workers to work in the U.S. will not adversely affect the job opportunities, wages and working conditions of U.S. workers. Once a permanent labor certification application has been approved by the DOL, the employer will need to seek the immigration authorization from USCIS.

We’ll be updating this article throughout the day, and will report back with any major developments.

That’s right. If you happen to be a member of Mara Salvatrucha MS-13, it’s a given you’ll have a lot of tats to confirm it. The tattoos very clearly say things like “Mara Salvatrucha” and “MS-13”. Doesn’t take much brain power to catch it.

“If you are sporting a gang tattoo, it is reasonable for a consular officer to investigate if you have gang affiliations,” said Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a group that favors curbing immigration to the U.S., adding, “Our government is competent to make these decisions.”

Hi, I’m Mr. Mara Salvatrucha

Now the debate starts up about what’s body art, and what’s an express symbol and confirmation of gang affiliation, and perhaps how context matters. Real MS-13 don’t go around volunteering in schools, and none have clean records.

“Because I like art, they try to put a mask of a bad person on me,” Mr. Villalobos said. “My record tells the truth.” According to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Mr. Villalobos has never been arrested. A notarized letter from an elementary-school teacher describes Mr. and Mrs. Villalobos as “supportive, involved parents that are always the first to volunteer for classroom activities.”

In one way I agree with this, but in another I do not.

On one hand,

-I grew up in Chicago, -where gangs are a way of life, and destroy the city to this day, -and these Chi-Town gangsters are all Citizens.

Maybe stopping obvious MS-13 and others at the border is a good idea, -because if they get in, -they’re gonna light it up against the locals. Or worse, -manage them better.

This is not a man who knows the streets of Chicago. Emanuel may have made a D.C. mistake when he brought Garry McCarthy in from Newark to serve as chief of police. McCarthy may be the smartest cop in America. He may give the best Power Point presentation about how his use of CompStat statistics cut the number of murders in New York to its lowest levels since the 1960s. That technocratic image goes a long way in Washington. But McCarthy doesn’t understand Chicago gangs. Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/Does-Mayor-Emanuel-Understand-Chicago-161949525.html#ixzz20LoQ9tgY

That was clear the other day when Quan joined Gov. Jerry Brownand U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHoodat Jack London Square to talk up a $15 million federal grant for the city’s port operations.

Afterward, when a reporter tried to ask Quan about the shooting Sunday night that wounded five people outside the Regal Cinemas movie complex at Jack London Square just a block away, the mayor dashed off – saying she didn’t want to be “stepping on” the big port announcement.

On another hand,

-how can you know one guy’s tats are from a gang, every single time? Art and design as ink on skin is sort of a cryptic thing in the first place.

Plus, -doesn’t our nation have laws about this already? And conversely, would an I LOVE USA tattoo help expedite entry?

I Love You, -now let me in.

Is this actually a form of discrimination conveniently labelled as crime prevention? The only way to get it right is to look at criminal records, -that is certain. Looking at tattoos only isn’t going to cut it.

So this is the backdrop against which some in the immigration establishment are now focusing.

Forget Joe Arpaio’s misguided profiling of everyone who isn’t Joe Arpaio, -here come some folks who have found a more specific manner in which to vet who gets in.

Problem is, there’s no list of defined tattos. Law enforcement has some, but how much can you trust them when many are actually in the pay of the very gangs they act as though they enforce against?

Obviously, symbols like the below are more difficult to figure out. Only those in the know understands these are secret symbols within MS-13.

No, this isn’t my favorite poker hand.

Just as “knowing the laws” in Chicago street gangs is a secret way to confirm if another gang member is who and what they say they are. Latin Kings have one set of “laws”, and Gangster Disciples still another. Their tattoos are in English and easy to figure out.

But what about the Russian Mafia. All their tattoos are in Cyrillic!

Foreign language gang tattoo, or friend of USA?

And how about Yakuza? I bet a lot of consular officials can read Japanese.

While border agents and consular officials try to sort out justifications of the actions regarding tattoos, it’s highly unlikely the core problem of gangs in America will be solved anytime soon.

But on the flipside, -there will be a few Mexican Mafia guys who get caught out, -their boss won’t be happy. Upside -big boom in tattoo removal business!

If you have tattoos of any kind, -it’s probably a good idea to get an immigration attorney.

President Obama last Friday submitted a visa waiver proposal of new rules streamlining the process for some illegal immigrants to remain in the country while they apply for citizenship. U.S. spouses would be able to file “Hardship Waivers” and the time to process them could be cut significantly.

Some of today’s headlines:

Some illegal immigrants with U.S. citizen spouses or parents would be allowed to apply for hardship waivers from the U.S. But Republicans accuse the president of proposing these visa waivers as a ‘backdoor amnesty.’

And;

Several senior House liberals are cheering President Obama this week after his administration proposed new rules making it easier for some illegal immigrants to remain in the country while they apply for citizenship.

Immigration Reform will now move forward in significant, focused measures. Bypassing Congress altogether, President Obama is sure to win support for re-election, to make good, even if he was very late in doing so, on campaign promises to Hispanics — a huge and growing U.S. voting bloc that helped him win the presidency in 2008:

“The President deserves credit for setting in place another essential building block through administrative action — moving us closer to a common sense immigration policy — that puts America, its families and its economy first,” Rep. Xavier Becerra (Calif.), vice chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, said Friday in a statement.

Will his visa waiver proposal actually help him though? Hispanic members of the GOP in Florida don’t think so. This visa waiver proposal seems pretty transparent to them. But if they consider who was actually in Obama’s way when he failed to deliver, they’ll perhaps be able to focus their power in the way that it should be, instead of sabotaging their true aims.

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